In order to create various light effects and mood lighting in connection with concerts, live shows, TV shows, sport events or as a part on architectural installation, light fixtures creating various effects are getting more and more used in the entertainment industry. Typically entertainment light fixtures create a light beam having a beam width and a divergence and can for instance be wash/flood fixtures creating a relatively wide light beam with a uniform light distribution or it can be profile fixtures adapted to project image onto a target surface.
Light emitting diodes (LED) are, due to their relatively low energy consumption or high efficiency, long lifetime, and capability of electronic dimming, becoming more and more used in connection with lighting applications. LEDs are used in lighting applications for general illumination such as wash/flood lights illuminating a wide area or for generating wide light beams e.g. for the entertainment industry and/or architectural installations. For instance like in products like MAC101™, MAC301™, MAC401™, MAC Aura™, Stagebar2™, Easypix™, Extube™, Tripix™, Exterior 400™ series provided by the applicant, Martin Professional A/S. Further LEDs are also being integrated into projecting systems where an image is created and projected towards a target surface, for instance like in the products MAC 350 Entour™ or Exterior 400 Image Projector™ also provided by the applicant, Martin Professional A/S.
WO 2006/113745 discloses a lighting apparatus comprises a light panel having a panel frame, and a plurality of LEDs or other light elements secured to the panel frame. Lenses and/or filters are adjusted in distance from the light elements, by for example moving the lenses/filters into different slot positions of the frame, to alter characteristics of the emitted light. Focal lenses, diffusion lenses, and color filters may be used individually or in combination. A compound lens includes lens elements having different focusing characteristics arranged in a pattern can be arranged in front of the LEDs and movement of the compound lens results in synchronously movement of the different lens elements in respect to the LED. AS a consequence the focal or spread of the light changed by the different lens elements will change simultaneously. Through groupwise control of the intensity of the light elements, the different characteristics are emphasized or de-emphasized.
WO 2007/049176 discloses a plurality of light emitting diode dies (LED) with associated secondary optics, which produce different light distribution patterns, are combined to produce an efficient light source having a desired illumination pattern. By way of example, a first LED may include a lens that produces a light distribution pattern with a maximum intensity at the center while a second LED may use a lens that produces a light distribution pattern with a maximum intensity that surrounds the maximum intensity of the pattern produced by the first LED. The light from the LEDs can then be combined to produce a desired illumination pattern. Additional LEDs and lenses, e.g., having different light distribution patterns may be used if desired. Moreover, a variable current driver may be used to vary the amount of current to the different LEDs, such that the combined illumination pattern may be varied as desired.
WO 2010/084187 discloses a spotlight comprising light emitting diode modules wherein each LED module comprises at least two light emitting diodes with different light emission spectra and a light mixer, wherein each light mixer is arranged at one side of the light mixer in cooperation with an assigned LED module and each light mixer is configured to mix the different light emission spectra of the at least two LEDs of the assigned LED module to form a light beam, and wherein exit surfaces at the other side of the light mixers are arranged next to each other in a matrix with its light beams of the light mixers form a common light beam and a focusing optics for focusing the common light beam.
It is common to incorporate midair light effects into light shows. Midair effects are created by creating a well-defined light beam which is partially scattered by haze or smoke particle in the air whereby the audience can see the light beam in the air. The midair light beams are often created in the head of a moving head light fixture where the head is rotatable connected to a yoke which is rotatable connected to a base and the light beam can as a consequence be moved around in the air. Typically midair light effects are created by profile moving heads comprising projecting systems as these created a bright well defined light beam or by a hybrid of a projecting and a wash system often called beam systems. Typically beam systems has focusing properties like a projecting system, however the focusing in beam systems is not as sharp as dedicated projecting systems and the beams systems creates a more narrow light beam compared to wash lights. There is today a number of different products (e.g. The MAC 250 Beam™ or the MAC 2000 Beam™ provided by Martin Professional A/S) which is cable of providing such light beams and many of these can create light beams with variable beam diverges and/or collimated light beams having variable beam diameter's. In beam systems, the light beam can be split into multiple numbers of light beams by incorporating prisms having a number of facets into the optical system or by incorporating gobos having a number of smaller apertures. As a consequence the multiple light beams are substantially identical. Further Beam systems are based on traditional light sources as discharge lamps as midair effect requires very bright light beams having relatively narrow beam properties and LEDs have not previously by used when creating beam systems. Yet another fact is that light designers and producers continuously try to create and use new and interesting light effects in the light shows.